The Prices We Pay
by dragongirl022
Summary: What happens when you give up everything you have to save a friend? Read and find out! Pairings are as of now: SokkaXAzula,AangxToph maybe some others later on......Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Nick, except for Pan. Duh

"Oi! Wake up you lazy lump! I ain't payin' you to sleep all day!"This noise was accompanied by loud pounding on the door. A girl, about 15 years old, woke up with a start. She gritted her teeth as pain racked through her ankle and arms and silently cursed under her breath. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and limped to the small bathroom of her makeshift bedroom, which was formerly an attic. She dressed, putting on a deep green tunic and similar pants, typical Earth Kingdom attire. Then carefully put fresh bandages on her arms. Gritting her teeth she rubbed a salve onto burns and then re-dressed the wounds.

Opening the door, she stepped into the hallway and limped down the stairs. Entering into a small café, she saw the shopkeeper and winced. He looked very stormy and the café hadn't even opened yet.

"Ava!" the shopkeeper looked in her direction.

"Yes, Pan?" was her reply.

"The shop opens in five minutes and you just woke up! Do you want to lose your job?"

"I'm sorry……I didn't sleep well because of my ankle."

"Fine. Just work extra today. Understand?"

She nodded her head. Pan had taken pity on the girl. Ava had no family or no place to stay. She said they died in a Fire Nation raid, which was easily believable. She paid her rent by working in his café, and she had a little extra money to spend elsewhere from her paycheck.

The girl who was supposedly called Ava went behind the counter and set up for today's customers. She boiled water and brought out the assorted pastries she had baked last night. Then limping out, cleaned and set the tables. She slid a key out of her pocket and opened the doors. Then she returned to behind the counter to spend the rest of the day.

After a rather painful morning service, Ava returned behind the counter and gently massaged her ankle. It was red and swollen again. She sighed and gently unwrapped the bandages around her arms. Some of the burns were bleeding others were oozing. But they were all swollen and stung. They were the result of the last encounter with her father. How close Ty had come to dying……..and how close she had been to death herself... _**Ding, Ding.**_

The bell at the front of the café rang. She peered around the wall and sucked in her breath. There at the entrance stood the Avatar himself and his gang. This made her very nervous, because even though she didn't look like herself, she had a feeling they would recognize her. Biting her lip, she limped to the front to greet them.

Please R&R. Should I continue or stop with this story? 


	2. Chapter 2

"Can't we go somewhere else? This is taking too long and I'm starving!" complained a boy, about 15 years old. He had icy blue eyes which didn't match the Fire Nation clothes he was wearing. His dark brown hair was pulled up into a bun with a golden band. His red and gold tunic ruffled in the light breeze blowing in through the window.

"We haven't even been here for more than a couple seconds." said a boy maybe 3 years younger than his companion. He had short black hair and was wearing a wide brimmed hat that covered most of his forehead. He was dressed similar to his friend, except he had stormy gray eyes which looked so full of wisdom, they gave the appearance he was much older.

The other boy grumbled and muttered something his friend couldn't hear. "Aang we're on the very edge of the Fire Nation! You have to be more careful. The less we just stand around the better."

"I know, I know. Stop worrying Sokka, we look nothing like ourselves. And look, someone's coming." He nodded his head in the direction of the back of the café.

Sokka looked and saw a girl maybe his age, coming toward them. There was something about this girl that seemed familiar to him. Her raven colored hair hung loosely around her face and had curled slightly at the edges. He noted the bandages on her arms and how she limped when she walked. Then he saw her eyes. He recognized those eyes. They were golden, highly unusual for an Earth Kingdom girl, except they were glazed and dull. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Ava limped to the door to seat them at a table. The one with stormy eyes, who she recognized as the Avatar smiled, but his friend, the Water Tribe warrior, just glared at her closely. Almost as if he recognized her. She gulped at this thought, but averted her gaze and brought them to a table. She gaze them menus and said she'd be back in a couple minutes.

Once back in the safety of the back room, she let out a long sigh of relief. This would be tricky. If she spoke she could almost guarantee they would recognize her, but how else would she take their orders? Biting her lip she decided she would have to improvise. But how? Taking a deep breath she stepped out into the open and walked painfully towards their table.

"Hi. I'm Ava and is there anything you would like to drink?" After she said this she held her breath, praying they wouldn't recognize her. Thankfully they didn't seem to so she continued. "Or would you like to get something to eat?" Amazed, she thought she might actually pull this off.

"Yeah. I think I want some jasmine tea and a…..a……..oh! I want a cinnamon roll!" the young Avatar replied.

"And you?" she said to the warrior.

"Nothing." he snapped. At this Aang raised his eyebrows and the girl who claimed to be Ava gulped. Then with a nod she turned and went to the back room. Aang looked at Sokka with a look of confusion on his face, and Sokka just glared at him. Aang knew better than to annoy him when he looked like that. So he drifted off into his own little world. Aang found his thoughts slowly drifting towards someone unexpected. He shook his head and saw the girl had brought his food over. He thanked her and quickly gulped it down.

Sokka watched him carefully. As soon as he finished, Sokka said, "Good you're done. Now let's go!"

"But Sokka I….."

"Aang now!" he snapped.

"Fine." he replied highly annoyed by his friend. He dropped a few coins on the table and they left the café.

Ava was on her way back to the café. It was sunset and the shop head closed an hour ago. She had gone to look around for more burn ointment and something for her ankle. After no results, she was going back because it was almost dark. And also because she had felt like someone was following her.

As she turned into an alley, she heard a scuffling noise. She turned around only to see nothing. Pressing her back to the wall, she looked carefully around the alley. She was about to move on when she saw a shadow in front of her and before she could move she felt a knife blade pressed to her throat.

"Hello, Azula."

Duh-duh-dum. R&R, maybe I'll update sooner. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Every muscle in her body went rigid. The cold steel blade was pressed light enough not to cut, but hard enough that if she moved it _would_ cut. And that blade was sharp. But soon the fear was replaced by anger. _How __**dare**__ he! How dare he attack me! _Reacting fast she used her left leg to kick her attacker hard in the stomach. He doubled over; however as soon as she moved he kicked her feet out from under her. She felt bones grind in her ankle from the blow and when she hit the ground, she couldn't move. In a matter of seconds she was hauled up to her feet only to have that knife back on her throat. Looking down she noticed a dark stain around her right ankle, and her arms stung as they had when the burns were fresh.

"So glad I found you Princess. Your dear old father would be rather crossed with me if I hadn't." An icy voice rang out, a voice dripping with scorn. At this remark, she just stood glaring, gold eyes meeting familiar cruel green ones. Despite her defiance, the young man noted they were clouded over and glazed with pain. This was typical of her. However he was in no mood to feel any pity, especially to her. In his book, her brother, Zuko, was even better than her.

"What the hell do you want?" she snarled.

"You are really ticking me off. And judging by your situation you are not the one to ask questions or argue." He said looking at her arms and ankle. "Anyway your father is rather…..annoyed that you ran off."

"I don't care about him, I just don't care." And her voice broke off.

"Well, he's paying me well to drag you back home…….So you're coming whether you like it not. A bounty hunter does his job well and fully. And I want the money, whether I have to drag you back or something else….."He said looking threateningly into her eyes. She winced and he smiled. He then turned around to pick up the back that had fallen on the floor when Azula had kicked him. That spot would defiantly be bruised.

In that split second, the princess had generated enough electricity to leave the man unconscious. She sent it right at him, not wanting to kill him; she had had enough of that. All during this war more and more people were dying. Innocent people were found burned alive everyday, and it was now she was slowly figuring out what the Avatar really fought for. As the lightning entered his body he slumped onto the wet alleyway, but not before a look of shock and pure hatred crossed over his face. A look that scared Azula more than anything else she had ever seen.

Suddenly she felt very weary, and her legs began trembling. She sat down and felt very dizzy. her eyesight became fuzzy and she couldn't focus on anything. Slowly blackness crept over her mind and she slipped into unconsciousness. But not before she felt the fear when she realized just how vulnerable and alone she was.

At the other end of the alley another shadow moved. The icy blue eyes had seen enough. He had all the evidence he needed. Slowly slipping out of sight he quickly made for his friends camp, scared and confused. If there was one person he feared more than anyone else, it was Princess Azula.

'K so did you like it, or hate it? Let me know! R&R


	4. Chapter 4

The sun rose slowly into the air as night faded. A young man slowly blinked his eyes as he felt the cold, wet stone of the deserted alleyway. Confused he rolled over and slowly sat up. Trying to get his bearings he suddenly remembered what had happened. The Princess……that wretched girl, how much he hated her now. Ozai would kill him if he didn't have her back to him in a week or so. Looking around he couldn't see any sign of her. Suddenly he smirked. There was a little bit of blood where he had pinned her to the wall last night. His shirshu could easily find her with blood, he would have her in no time, especially because, how fast can someone move with a broken ankle?

Pulling up his hood, the bounty hunter stepped into the main street. He headed towards a stable, and sneaking in, grabbed his shirshu's reins. The man who owned the stable lay paralyzed on the floor. The creature, although blind, recognized his master and followed him into the alley. Smelling the blood on the wall, the shirshu growled and took off towards a forest as soon as his master was in the saddle. Once in the saddle, the bounty hunter smiled, a cruel, calculating smile. _This would be fun._

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The young warrior walked through the small market, deep in thought. None of it added up. Nothing…..nothing made sense. If he had been paying attention he would have noticed people shrinking away in fear as he passed. If the girl in the shop was that evil menace, why didn't she attack them then? It would have been two against one, instead of four. It amazed him she could firebend so well with that badly a broken ankle. She must have such control over her element……….to bad Aang couldn't find someone who would teach him and could bend like that. But what was the Princess of the Fire Nation doing in the Earth Kingdom, much less working in a shop with a broken ankle?

"Can I help you?" A high clear voice broke through his thoughts.

"What?" He said confused. Then he realized he was leaning on a stall and the owner looked scared. This confused him until he realized he was dressed like a Fire Nation citizen.

"Sorry……uh... yeah I guess I'll buy that." He pointed to a small necklace. It wasn't until he had it in his hands, that he didn't have any idea why he wanted it. Paying the shopkeeper, he wandered off through the market back towards camp, gently fingering the pendant in the middle. It was a miniature red stone veined with gold, and carved into dragon. Looking closely at it he saw it also was flecked with blue lapis lazuli. This confused him further. Heading into the forest he looked both ways to see if anyone was following him. Seeing no one he cut through the trees towards a small glade. Entering the glade he saw no sign of Katara, and guessed she was down by the lake. Hearing a lot of noise to the right, he walked right into a rock that had just flown out of no where.

"TOPH!" he yelled

"Wasn't me…It was Twinkle Toes."

"Was not!" said the young Avatar appearing out of a tree.

"Was too!"

"Was not!"Aang and Toph were now inches from each other, both trying to stand taller than the other.

"Oh sure, well when you two are done flirting, come back to camp I need to talk to you both." He said smirking, knowing that would make them both angry.

"We're not flirting!" they both yelled, as Aang blushed and Toph glared.

"Whatever, this is important. Aang, Toph go find Katara and go quickly" he said. As Sokka walked back towards the glade, he gently stroked the blue and red dragon.

OooooooooO! I like this one. Anyways R&R as always. I'll try and update quickly.


	5. Chapter 5

As she slowly came back into consciousness, the first thing she felt was fear. She didn't know where she was or…..wait, she was in the alley. Only it was pitch black and she couldn't see anything except the moon, which judging by it's position she guessed it was around 10'o'clock. Her head was throbbing with dull pain, her arms burned and her ankle felt like someone had snapped her foot off. Leaning forward slowly she let her eyes gradually adjust. Once they did she almost jumped out of her skin.

Crouching in front of her was a boy. He was maybe 16; he did look like Zuko, minus the scar. His shaggy black hair hung in front of his bright brownish green eyes, eyes that sparkled in the dim light of the torch he held.

"Are you okay? I mean I heard noise down here and thought I'd go see what it was….."He said softly.

"Do I look okay?" she snapped, instantly regretting it. He was, after all just trying to help.

"Yeah well, you know what I mean. Come back to my house, this is no place for you. Especially with that ankle, my mom might be able to do something for it. By the way my name's Shan."

He reached out a hand to help her up. She grabbed it and painfully got onto her feet.

"My name's Ava." she said, as she put her arm over his shoulder. Walking with a sprained ankle was one thing, a broken and bleeding one another. But, with his offered support it wasn't so hard. It still hurt though. Thankfully the boy was quiet for most of the walk so it gave her time to think. She recognized the bounty hunter, she had seen him in the palace before, but who was he? He was at the last meeting her father had had about the war……..she knew him, why couldn't she remember?

"Well here we are. It isn't much but still….." The boy called Shan said. Azula blinked and looked at his house. It was pretty big, compared to the other houses in this small Earth Kingdom town. Especially because they were on the edge of the Fire Nation. She just nodded her head and Shan brought her inside.

The inside of the house was lit by the Earth Kingdom's trademark light source, glowing green crystals. Guiding her over to the couch, he said, "Stay here, I'll be right back."

"Like I could go anywhere anyway." she replied. He shook his head and trotted up the stairs. Azula looked around, noticing many herbs and other things used for healing wounds. Hearing noise from the stairs she turned her head in that direction.

"Hello, dear, my son says you're hurt." A woman, she looked in her 30's, came down the stairs. She looked very much like her son, except her eyes were blue. This puzzled Azula; she had never seen an earth Kingdom citizen with blue eyes. Azula smiled at her, but before the healer could respond her son came clopping down the stairs.

"Mom, I found her in the alley and I think her ankle's broken and-"

"I can speak you know?" said Azula. The boy just smiled meekly and then turned to his mother, who raised her eyebrows.

"Sorry." he mumbled. Then turning back around went up the stairs. Shaking her head, his mother turned back to Azula.

"Now, let me see your ankle." she said. Azula pulled off her shoe and rolled up her pants. She grimaced when she saw just how bad it looked. It was bleeding pretty badly and she saw a little bit of bone sticking out from the skin. The healer carefully observed the break and nodding, turned around and walked over to where all the herbs were.

"So, I'm not going to ask how that happened but, I will tell you this. A break that bad can only be healed by a master waterbender. Of which I am not." she said, looking Azula hard in the eye. "I can set it back into place, so you can move and it won't bleed but it will not heal right without a proper waterbender."

Azula groaned inwardly. She could barely walk like this, let alone firebend. And the only waterbender not on the other side of the world was the warrior's sister. She knew she could heal, she'd seen her do it while in Ba Sing Se. But like _she_ would help. _This is just great._

"I'm going to move the bones back into alignment, and I won't lie, this is going to hurt a lot." the healer said to Azula. She gently placed her hands on her ankle, and in one quick movement pushed the bones back together. Azula hissed loudly from the pain, and dug her nails into the chair. It was all she could do to keep from blasting the poor woman's head off.

"Well you took that better than most." said Shan's mother, as she gently put some ointment on the deep puncture. Then grabbing a vial of water, she poured it on her hand. Azula watched with curiosity as the water glowed and formed a glove around her hand. Pressing her hand to the cut, she watched as the wound healed. Pulling her hand back she said, "I can heal skin and minor burns and scrapes, just not bones and wounds like that." she indicated her ankle, which Azula noticed was now wrapped in a bandage.

"Thank you." said the Princess. The words felt strange in her mouth, she couldn't remember the last time she had said them. And meant it, like she did now, because her ankle still hurt, but it wasn't the sharp pain of before. Now that she had left her father, she felt a strange feeling of gratitude towards everything.

"You're welcome to stay the night if you wish." the healer said, sounding very motherly.

"I would love to, but my father's probably worried sick. So I should be going." She did realize how much danger they were in if she stayed here. Azula had no doubt that the bounty hunter had a shirshu, and probably a rather nasty one. Standing up, she gasped as pain shot up her leg.

"Here, come with me. You can take our ostrich-horse home and return him in the morning." The healer led her to a small stable around the back of the house. Three horses were in their and the woman picked the largest one. Helping Azula up into the saddle, she said. "He's very gentle, and is a smooth ride."

Azula nodded and thanking the woman once again set out down the road. But not before dropping three gold coins in the hay. Turning into an alley, she looked to see no one saw her and then set the animal into a fast gallop towards the forest, the one past the deserted market.

Well, this was very long and took a _long_ time. Please R&R. Thanks ;)


	6. Chapter 6

A light breeze carrying the air of summer rustled through the newly grown leaves. The mid-morning sunshine was warm and insect's chirps filled the small clearing, at least until a stick snapped. The girl who had just been asleep awoke with a start. Slowly, she got to her feet, favoring her right ankle. Narrowing her eyes, the Princess looked around the small clearing. It was impossible to tell whether it had been an animal or…….or something else. When she heard another crack to the right of her, she let out a low whistle.

In response, the ostrich-horse came trotting over to her. She tugged on his reins, and the animal crouched down. Slinging herself into the saddle, she clicked her tongue and the animal trotted into the woods. Looking behind her she saw nothing but heard more rustles and urged the animal into a quick trot. It wasn't until a tongue shot out at her that the animal started a break neck gallop.

She looked in the general direction of where the tongue had come from and saw a blur of black and gold through the trees. Then, as the tongue shot out again she realized it was the bounty hunter and his shirshu. Hastily, she urged the animal on into such a pace; it _would_ kill her if she lost her balance. Praying to the gods that she would get out of this alive, she directed her mount towards a stream she heard. She knew that a shirshu would go nowhere near water, despite their owner's commands. Problem was this stream was across a glade, a glade with no trees equaled no protection. _Great._

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"Wait a minute Snoozles, someone's coming…or something and it's big." Sokka had just been about to explain to them what he had discovered in the small village when Toph cut in. Growling in frustration, he turned around to see what she was talking about.

"Toph I don't see-….."

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As her horse charged into the clearing, it tripped. Over a twig, a twig of all things. At the speed it had been going, the sudden stop sent Azula hurtling over its head and into the air. She crashed into something, and it wasn't until they hit the ground that she realized who it was. She met the surprised stare from those icy blue eyes when they met her golden ones.

"Ummmmm…hi?" he said as he regained his breath, which was hard as she had landed on top of him. It was great for her, he had cushioned her fall, but rocky ground wasn't very forgiving.

"Hi." she said. A second later she felt herself hauled up by her shirt collar. She saw a hand close around the warrior's neck and he squirmed until the grip tightened to the point where he could barely breathe. She herself could barley breath, because her shirt was cutting into her throat. She didn't even try a kick this time, her right ankle was once again burning and if she used her left foot, her balance would be lost and she'd choke.

"Nobody move. Take one step and the boy dies."

K, sorry it took so long… I was busy with school and stuff. Please R&R.


	7. Chapter 7

He couldn't move, couldn't breath. He felt so vulnerable, helpless, at the ……..the……._mercy _of this man. The hand around his throat was hardened and scarred. He glanced at the girl who was half standing, half falling next to him. She was stiff and obviously in pain. How did she get like this? Her cheek had small cuts on them, they looked like scrapes from branches, but he couldn't tell. However, his surprise at her arrival was soon replaced by anger. She was the one who hurt Aang, almost killed him…it was her who had pursued them for countless days…..

"Now, if you two want this boy alive, I suggest you cooperate." the man, _who was he anyway?_, said in a cold voice that sounded familiar. _Wait a second, two?_ Confused, Sokka looked around the clearing and saw Toph and Katara and-where was Aang? He couldn't move his head so he looked at Katara, his eyes asking for the question for him. She responded with a look that mirrored his. So they both didn't know where he was, how helpful.

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She was frozen, focusing mainly on breathing. The shirt collar was cutting deeply into-but, wait, shirt collars don't feel cold, do they? That's when she realized that the bounty hunter had not just grabbed her shirt collar, but the silver chain of a necklace she had around her neck. And then, she had a thought. _Silver is a metal and metals conduct heat. So if-_

"Well, who do I have here? An earthbender, a waterbender, this water tribe peasant and a Princess. Unusual, don't you think to see waterbenders so far from the Poles? Unless of course the Avatar is around." he said, looking around the clearing. At the mention of the word Avatar, the waterbender went rigid, if only for a second. He smirked knowing form that one movement that the Avatar was here.

In those brief moments the bounty hunter was speaking, Azula's hand went up to her throat. Grasping one end of the chain, she let heat, and a lot of it, flow from her hand into the metal. In a few seconds the metal was glowing red. In the brief moment that followed, chaos broke loose. The bounty hunter snarled and pulled back his hands on instinct. Sokka bounded over to Katara and Azula lost her balance. Aang came out of a tree and so the fight began. Aang blasted the bounty hunter with a jet of air, which he retaliated with fire. Azula realized who he was after he firebended, his name was Torrai and he was only on good terms with her father because of how excellent a bounty hunter he was. He was also a general in the Fire Nation's army.

However, he was also a very good fighter. And this was causing a bit of a problem for the Avatar and his friends. But the little earthbender was quick and very effective when paired with the waterbender. Together they pushed Torrai back into the trees, except they didn't know that they were letting him get closer to his shirshu. Once he was several feet from the creature, he leapt up onto its back. From there, he let the creature use its paralyzing sting. Only he was a second too late. The Avatar had made his way to the water and had bended a huge wave towards the shirshu. Since it was blind the animal didn't know the wave was coming until it hit him. Both man and animal were dragged into the now raging river and were swept away.

Aang had headed back to the clearing and pointed his staff at Azula. "Make one move and you'll end up like him." Aang said coldly.

"I'm no threat, I can't firebend, honest." she replied to him. Aang narrowed his eyes, well aware of her capacity to lie.

"Relax Twinkletoes; she is for once telling the truth." Toph said, coming to stand at Aang's side. Aang lowered his staff and watched as Sokka and Katara came over.

Sokka asked, "Who was that man? And why did he all of sudden let go of my throat?" He looked at Azula waiting for an answer.

"He let go because of this." she replied, pulling the small necklace out from around her throat. The silver was still glowing slightly, and hanging in the middle was a lapis lazuli dragon, a dragon flecked with red.


	8. Chapter 8

Sokka narrowed his eyes at the small dragon that was swinging back and forth of the silver chain. It was exactly the same as the one he had except hers was blue, his was red. He didn't trust her one bit, if Toph hadn't claimed she was telling the truth……

"Why are you here?" Aang sneered, meeting Azula's heated glare with a look of hate. Like Sokka, Aang didn't trust her, he hated her, a hate that was fueled by fear. He knew Aang was terrified of her, he was scared the moment he met her. Despite his fearsome demeanor, Sokka could see the occasional twitch of his arms that displayed his fear.

Turning his gaze back towards the Princess, he noticed she was leaning against a tree. She was favoring her right foot, barely putting her weight on it, instead leaning against the tree for support. He also noticed the wrappings on her arms, which he now recognized as bandages, had ripped in patches. They revealed bright red marks that looked swollen and painful, with a start of surprise, Sokka realized were burns. Even more puzzling, was the fact she had been being chased by someone…..a bounty hunter, he guessed judging by the fact he had ridden a shirshu.

"I'm waiting for an answer." Aang said.

"Well aren't we demanding today." she said in response to Aang. He narrowed his eyes in anger and frustration. She seemed different to Sokka somehow; maybe it was the fact she didn't speak in that smooth, poisoned honey voice she usually possessed.

"Hey wise guy, you're not the one to be a smart mouth right now got it?" Toph said her voice firm. As Azula glanced in her direction, her gaze happened to pass over Katara. She noticed a look of such hate and anger, that she knew the waterbender would kill her the moment she got the chance. She had never seen a look so hateful in her life.

At Toph's remark, Azula sighed deeply. Her shoulders sagged and for a couple moments she looked older than 15, weary and tired. Sokka exchanged a quick glance with Katara; she looked just as confused as he felt. Never before had he seen the Princess so tired and weak, she usually had the pose of confidence and authority.

"I don't know." she said, putting her face in her hands and sinking to the ground. The necklace fell from her grip and landed on the ground besides her. All the will to capture the Avatar had been driven out of her, the will to fight, her spirit crushed. The wind whispered through the branches as the sun was beginning to set. Sokka took one step closer towards Azula, who glanced up at him with a quizzical look on her face. Normally he wouldn't approach her so gently, but instinct told him that she needed it, that something bad had happened to her.

"Azula, what happened?" he said, kneeling down besides her. She looked at him with eyes so full of pain and hurt that his heart almost skipped a beat. Those golden eyes that once burned brightly now were as dull as ash. She let her gaze fall away and stared at the ground.

Sokka scooped up the necklace in his hands and held it up in front of her. She gently took it from him, clasping it back around her neck. She met his gaze again, then cleared her throat and so began her tale.

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Sorry it took so long guys, but I'm sooooo busy with school. Anyhow this is one of those transition chapters….I'm too excited at the prospect of the third season to write properly!! Please R&R I'll update sooner, promise! ;)


	9. Chapter 9

_You can run, but I'll catch you……The Earth Kingdom has fallen…A brilliant blast of blue light………Crackling pain…….Falling……fading…_

Aang awoke with a start gulping in great gasps of air. The sudden movements made him wince with pain; the battle earlier on had left him so weak. He put his hand on his side and grimaced. The moonlight illuminated the clearing, showing him the sleeping figures scattered around the camp. A small winged creature landed on his shoulder and licked his cheek.

"Hey Momo." he whispered. The young Avatar dug his fingers into the lemurs long, thick fur. He stroked him and the lemur leapt onto his sleeping back. It soon curled up and fell asleep at the foot of the bed. Aang yawned and gazing up saw clouds covering the stars. With a grunt, he grabbed a stick by the side of the sleeping bag and got painfully to his feet.

Padding past a snoring Sokka, Aang made his way down to the river. He found an ideal rock, dry and flat, and sat down. He crossed his legs and stared into the cool, moon-washed water and thought about what the Princess had told them.

_After she had conquered Ba Sing Se, she and Zuko returned to the Fire Nation by summons of her father._ _She had given Zuko the glory of killing the Avatar for two reasons. First if he turned out not to be dead, he would take the blame. Secondly he needed a good reason to stay with the Fire Nation. If he had all the glory he wouldn't leave._

_This worked until about a week after their return. The Prince and Princess of the Fire Nation were both in the presence of their father. He was holding a war council about the comet. There was no real concern seeing as the Avatar was dead. However, he claimed they would still be ready on the Day of Black Sun if anyone did plan to still attack. Even without the ability to firebend, the chances were slim of anyone being able to overthrow the Fire Lord. Every soldier was trained with bows, swords, and a whole assortment of metal weapon, besides the fact most of them couldn't firebend well enough anyway_

_After the council, her father told Azula to meet him in the grand throne room. He told her to bring Ty Lee and Mai, if she could be separated from Zuko. She had narrowed her eyes at him, but said nothing and did as she was told. Ty Lee came along but Mai took longer, she and Zuko were missing in action. Ty finally found them in the garden and dragged Mai with her, much to Zuko's annoyance._

_In the throne room, her father told them they were to be at the front of the palace on the Day of Black Sun. The trio would be in charge of keeping anyone from entering the palace. The price would be dear if they didn't. _

_After his short speech he dismissed Ty Lee and Mai. Turning to his daughter, he said today she was going to learn an important lesson about loyalty. Beckoning to the guards, they led in a man with his hands bound behind his back with a young boy who looked to be about 5-maybe 6.The man looked defiant and terrified at the same time, his son-that was who Azula took him to be- had tears running down his eyes, but he was silent._

_Azula looked at the two, blinked, and then looked back at her father. He met her gaze with a stare of the coldest, golden ice._

_"Now, my daughter, what would be a worthy punishment for a traitor?" he questioned._

_"A banishment perhaps….it depends on how severe-"_

_"Please, I'm no traitor……..I've never helped the Avatar I swear. I'm just a humble servant willing to s-s-serve m-m-my Nation." said the man in a stammering voice his eyes pleading with Azula's._

_'How dare you look my daughter in the eye and speak so brazenly to me." hissed Fire Lord Ozai. "That alone is enough for your execution" he said, making a glowing red fireball in his hand. Azula furrowed her brows, she had never seen something as harsh as this before. _

_"No! Please don't hurt daddy!" the little boy sobbed. And for some reason unknown to her, she felt that tug her heartstrings. Ozai smirked and watched the little buy pull against the guards. Then just as quickly as he made it, he hurled the fireball-now as large as a boulder, easily-at the man._

_With horror, Azula watched the scene as if in slow motion. Without really thinking what she was doing, she didn't even remember moving, she slid in front of the man and dissipated the fireball. Then she stood in front of him, taking up a fighting stance._

_"How dare you! You dare defy me!!" roared Ozai. He shot fireball and whips at his daughter, and even though she was hard pressed, she managed to block them all. While the Fire Lord caught his breath, Azula wheeled around knocked the two guards unconscious. _

_"Go, now!!" she said to the man and his son, both of who were just standing there surprised. With a nod, the man ran towards the door, his son lingered, giving the Princess a look so grateful she felt her heartstrings rip Then turning he followed his father._

_"Ahhhhhh!!" She felt burning pain as two whips of red fire wrapped around both her forearms She dropped to her knees, as her father slowly approached her. She looked up with misty eyes and saw his forbidding figure in a frenzy of black dots._

_"You, like your weak brother, are worthless. And like him you will learn respect through pain and suffering." he hissed, looming over her. She looked up with stinging eyes as an uncontrollable rage built inside of her. Once her father was several strides away, she hissed and sent lighting straight at his chest. Blood dripped from her burnt arms, as her father recoiled from the impact. _

_She quickly got to her feet, but just as she was dashing under the archway out of the room, a stone fell down and landed on her shoulder. It wasn't big enough to do serious damage, but it still knocked her off her feet. Looking up she saw a huge black hole in the wall above her head and before she regained her footing, another stone larger than the first, fell and landed on her ankle. With a gasp of pain, she heard something snap. But, trying to ignore the pain, she got to her feet and moved into the hallway, just as a huge avalanche of rock fell, blocking the doorway. Making her way quickly down to the stables, she knew she had only several minutes before he father broke down the wall and pursued her. She picked the nearest Komodo-Rhino and swung onto its saddle, wincing from the pain. Snapping her heel into its side, it took off out of the main gate and into a forest. She pushed it as fast as it would go, knowing she needed to get away from here. Anywhere but here._

I am sooooo sorry guys. This took way longer than I thought it would and it came out much longer than I expected. Anyway I will update soon as possible, I promise. Please R&R!!


	10. Chapter 10

The moon washed over the river, causing it to look like quick silver as it bubbled and gurgled. The green leaves, in full bloom for summer, were still in the humid night air. A boy was sitting cross legged with his eyes closed on a smooth flat rock overhanging the stream. He looked to be not breathing; the rise and fall of his chest was so light and slow. Stars twinkled overhead, their reflections dancing across the water.

An unseasonably cold breeze blew behind the boy; it silenced the air which several moments before had been humming with buzzing wings and chirps. His eyes snapped open and he leapt down from the rock, grimacing at the sudden jolt of pain when he hit the ground. Wobbling, he tried to regain his balance. He quickly unsheathed a small engraved knife with a Fire Nation emblem on it and glanced around the clearing. He held his breath, anxiously waiting to see what was approaching him.

"Hello Aang." A ghostly apparition appeared before his eyes. He was an old man, with a fire nation crown on his head and a long beard as white as snow. He wore a long pearly robe, emblazoned with dragons and fire.

"Avatar Roku!" the boy said with a gasp of relief. He gazed into his eyes, but as usual the previous Avatar's eyes gave away nothing. "Is something wrong?"

"I understand you have a refugee in your group. Would you care to explain?" He said staring Aang squarely in the eye. His gaze made the young avatar squirm like a fish on land.

"I don't even know why _she's_ here. She claims to have been-"

"Aang, I know the story. I am a spirit, after all. What I mean is what you plan on doing."

"Well, she can't stay here, I mean look at what she's done. And she's no friend of mine, I don't care if she left her father or not. I _will never_ let her near anyone I care about, just so she can hurt them again." This comment was met by a quizzical star from Roku, one of his eyebrows were arched. He looked at Aang and Aang glared at him.

"You know Aang; one of the greatest problems with our race is that people seem to never be able to forgive one another. Instead they turn to hate and it isn't long before hate turns to violence. We are a young race with much to learn. But there is goodness and courage in everyone; it just takes the right person to help them find it. Tolerance begins with acceptance and only then will peace come." He said his gaze shifting to the stars.

"But Roku she's my enemy!"

"Honestly Aang I expected better of you. But if this is how you must be, remember keep your friends close and your enemies close…"

His form suddenly faded. Aang looked at where he'd just been, puzzled by Roku's sudden disappearance. That was at least until he saw a form step through the branches and groaned, not because of who was coming but because this was the first time he had talked to Roku in weeks.

"Hey Twinkle-toes. Who ya talking to?"

Aang smiled and sighed with relief. He was completely on edge ever since Azula had crashed, literally, into their camp.

"No one."

"Yeah right. So I must've just imagined hearing your voice and then responses?"

"Yeah well you must have been hearing things because-"

"I can tell you're lying." she replied in a singsong taunting voice.

"Why do you have to be like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you know everything. Can't you just go with the flow for a change? Or even agree with someone? Toph, it's so annoying!"

"Jeez, Twinkle toes, I didn't know you would be so sensitive. And anyways this is who I am. If you want me to change fine, but I tell you, you won't like the other side of the fence!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" She stormed back into the forest, rocks and pebbles cracking as she went. Aang glared after her for a few moments before simmering down. _Why does she do this to me? Why does she have this effect on me?_ Deep down inside he knew the answer but wouldn't believe himself. She had looked so angry, and he was afraid with what she meant "You won't like the other side of the fence!" He didn't mean to agitate her, and he knew what he said wasn't fair. After all, he had been talking and as far as he knew no one could hear- wait a second, no one he knew of could _hear _spirits speak. So why did Toph hear them? Aang shook his head and jumped when he felt loose strands of hair brush his forehead. He would probably never get used to the feeling of something on his head. And he was also slightly overloaded with all that had happened today. Between Azula, Roku and Toph sudden supernatural ability to hear spirits, he needed a lot of time to meditate. And what better time than under the warm summer moon?

I am sooo sorry this took so long. And I really don't like this chapter that much, but I'm going through writers block right now! Please R&R! Criticism is welcome, just not flames!


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